Happy Onam!

Onam celebrations in Poojappura

While in Belgium school started, the beginning of September for us meant holidays: yesterday at work, we celebrated the start of Onam, a 10-day lasting festival that takes place all over Kerala. For that, we needed traditional Keralan clothes. We had the choice: a sari or a salwar kameez – a long dress + trousers and of course the usual scarf, worn the Indian way, which means starting from the back, draped on the front and ending on the back again…

Since we both don’t feel really comfortable wearing a sari (too complicated and too risky – it might fall off J), Anneke and I chose to look for a salwar kameez. But because we only started our quest the day before Onam, it had to be a ready-made. Most often, you just buy the material and go to a tailor to have it made according to your own size and taste. Ready-made on the contrary invariably means just one size (BIG size), and limited choice. If your choice is even more limited by the fact you need a traditional one, and because of some budget constraints – you don’t want to spend heaps of money for something you’ll wear only once or twice – you’ll have to be not too critical concerning the fact whether you like it or not.

After a lot of shops and even more salwar kamezes (the one even uglier than the one before), we finally found something that suited our budget and didn’t look too terrible; a little stiff maybe and certainly too big, but we looked like angels – just felt a little stupid. But in the end, that was more convenient and culture-sensitive than just appearing with our own clothes. And I guess that our colleagues appreciated it, although most of them couldn’t help smiling when they first saw us.

The luggage problems are finally solved, although it took a lot of time and effort. After having waited for almost two weeks, and with no hope for getting it solved quickly because things got more and more complicated, and with the warning of the airline company that the luggage could be disposed when standing at the airport for more than 3 weeks, Anneke and Vincent decided to head for Mumbai themselves and try to get the luggage cleared personally, without any intermediate persons. They arrived after a train-journey of more than 30 hours, equipped by a letter of the university, confirming we really needed the laptops for our research, some contact names from persons working at the airport who might help if they told them they were friends with this or that person, a bad temper because of all the troubles and all the documents they thought they could possibly need. And thanks to Anneke’s drama performance, she got it cleared without even having to pay a single rupee! The next day, they enjoyed a festival which was being held that day in Mumbai, before getting on the train for another 30-hour trip.

In the mean time, I stayed in Trivandrum. At work, there wasn’t a lot to do for me, since our visit to the project site was postponed because of the luggage problems. But sitting there alone did oblige me to seek contact with the other Indians, so that was a good thing. The first evening after Anneke and Vincent left, there was a party at Mr. Shankar’s house (celebrating that he got the ‘Man of the Year in Kerala’-award). It was a nice experience, except for the fact they forced me to sing something – in a microphone for some 100 Indians, not really one of my favourite activities :s.

Anneke and Vincent being gone to Mumbai posed another problem we didn’t think of as a problem: I would have to stay alone at the house. That was an unbearable thought for Mr. Shankar, presume something would happen to me!?! It was not safe for a girl, certainly not a Western girl. That’s why I spent the next four nights at Mr. Shankar’s house, where when he was not around – as usual, since he is so busy all the time – his servant, Baladi, took care of me. The house was only a five minutes walk from our house, so I usually just went there by 9 in the evening, after I prepared something to eat for myself.

Indian food is still nothing for me really. When Anneke and Vincent were off to Mumbai, I usually went with the other Indians to a restaurant for lunch, where I ate ‘meals’ – rice, some unidentifiable vegetables, curries, and sauces, all as much as you want, but always too much for me. Even the things that are not too spicy for me to eat, I don’t really like. Luckily, by now, I’ve discovered some things I do like, so don’t worry about me dying from starvation :).

Since our project was postponed, I had a look at the other social projects of Habitat, either finished or being implemented. I had the chance to visit a newly built village for victims of the tsunami at the southernmost point of India, the day Habitat officially handed the project over to the villagers. To me, the houses seemed very small and empty, but the people were all very grateful. It was nice to see the rituals of the handing-over ceremony – cooking milk on an open fire inside the house, handing over scarves the way we give flowers as a thank you, and the speeches, unfortunately in Tamil, so I didn’t understand a word.

We get one week off because of the Onam festival, in which we’ll travel around in Kerala: probably Varkala, Thiruvalla (the native place of Mr. Shankar, he invited us to visit it so he could show us around) and Aranmula, where we’ll see the famous boat races. Today, we’re going to an Indian marriage. It’ll probably only take half an hour, but I’m very curious!

So: lots of exciting things to do, we’re really enjoying our stay here!!!

Miss you all… News from Belgium or other parts of the world is always welcome :)

Els*

PS. Things I miss here in India:

• The usual: sweets and chocolate =)
• A piano to play on from time to time
• A traffic-free road to walk along
• Hot water for the shower – it always takes some time to get to breathe properly again because of the icy-cold water
• Being able to just leave some food around without finding it again with loads of ants on it
• My favourite violin concertos
• Giving hugs and kisses to the little baby inside Leen’s belly
• Benches or other places to just take a little rest without being stared at
• Gymnastics
• And lots of other things I can’t think of now
• Things I like about India
• The always-friendly and helpful people
• Shops literally next-door selling whatever basic things you might need opened from before we get up in the morning (haven’t found out what time they open yet) till 11 in the evening, every single day, even on Sundays or Onam
• The weather – at least when it’s not the kind of monsoon like in Goa
• The palm trees
• Eating with your hands
• Being able to sit with your feet on the seats
• All these other funny habits, as putting your shoes off before you enter the office or shaking your head the Indian way, which make you think of your own funny habits again
• The beauty of the people, culture and nature
• The fact that no one even bothers when there is another electricity cut, life goes on as normal except for some candles when it’s night (mostly it doesn’t really take a long time to be fixed again, after 5 to 10 min. everything is back to normal)
• Too much to say…

PPS. Since we still don’t have a fixed address, anyone who wants to send me some mail (hint, hint =), here is the address of the office:

To: Els Keunen

Habitat Technology group

Pushpavanam lane

Poojappura P. O.

Thiruvananthapuram – 695 012

Kerala

INDIA